I assume the consumption only increases through time, but let’s take the daily 2007 numbers from Global INForM Cases Sales database, the total number of Coca-Cola cans sold per worldwide is 67,873,309. Diet Coke and Coke Zero sold 35,387,241, while MyCoke sold 103,260,550. Yes, that’s all per day.

So taking only the classic Coca-Cola, that’s 24,773,757,785 every year. Twenty-four billion cans. That is indeed a lot of paint and paint removal products. Because this doesn’t only affect the production. It also affects the recycling, which will eliminate a step:

The naked can help to reduce air and water pollution occurred in its colouring process. It also reduces energy and effort to separate toxic colour paint from aluminium in recycling process. Huge amount of energy and paint required to manufacture coloured cans will be saved. Instead of toxic paint, manufacturers process aluminium with a pressing machine that indicates brand identity on surface.

Sounds good to me, and it even looks better if you take into account all kinds of Coke. That brings up the number to 75,380,201,500 cans. I don’t know how much paint that represents, but I’m guessing quite a few thousand tons. [7760 via Likecool, Sales info from Let's Get Together]

At the moment, only 10 per cent of PCs or TVs are actually recycled in this country, and even those generally have a cost involved with them. The introduction of a mandatory recycling scheme should see that number increase to over 80 per cent, which could save up to 2.5 million tonnes of e-waste sent to landfill over the next 20 years.

The scheme is most likely going to be industry driven, and will consequently mean that the TV manufacturers will pass on the costs to consumers at the point of sale. The good news is that the EPHC (Environment Protection and Heritage Council) report reckons that the cost would be between $5-$10 for each TV, which is such an insignificant sum when buying something worth hundreds or thousands of dollars that it makes you wonder why this wasn’t introduced years ago.

So far, Panasonic, Sony and Sharp have filled my inbox with press releases stating their public support for the scheme. Lets hope that all the other manufacturers jump on board as well, and this thing gets up sooner rather than later…

[EPHC (pdf)]

There are a lot of holes you could poke in this concept, like the flippant use of meaningless terms like “bio chip” and buzzwords like “convergence” and “high technology”, and the fact that by the time vital components like the battery and display are cheap enough to throw away — that’ll be 2020, according to the designer’s completely arbitrary calculations — laptops, or whatever we’re using, probably won’t be shaped like this.

But if you think about it, we’re heading toward this kind of design anyway: flimsy, dirt-cheap netbooks seem to have a short intended lifespan, and hell, even my polycarbonate MacBook felt like it was beginning to disintegrate after about two years of heavy use. It may not have been cardboard, but in its own way, it sure felt disposable. [Yanko]

The USS New York is a San Antonio-class amphibious assault vessel, which can carry 800 marines with their helicopters. The steel from the World Trade centre was used for its bow. If you are in New York, you can see it today near Zone Zero, on the south tip of Manhattan. [USS New York via Times Online]

Lame jokes aside, TerraCycle actually has a decent little business plan going on. Put simply, they recycle the world’s garbage into electronics, bags and other knick knacks, and sell them on the cheap.

These Frito-Lay Cheeto speakers, for example, sell at Radio Shack for $US20. They won’t melt your face, but I can see them finding a comfortable home on the desk of some undergrad. [TerraCycle CNET]

The medals, designed by Canuck artists Corrine Hunt and Omer Arbel, are made from the gold, bronze and silver reclaimed from old electronics. They’re also laser-etched so no two medals are the same and feature an undulating design meant to invoke the landscape of Vancouver. I can’t wait to win one, or at least be forced to hear about them for two weeks of unnecessary media coverage overload. [NotCot via Technabob]

Supposedly, the ecoATM went live in the US on Friday, in an Omaha furniture store, of all places.

The process is pretty simple. The mobile phone is placed in the ecoATM, scanners judge how terrible you were to your phone over the years, and then you are presented with a quote that can be used as store credit or cash. Mobile phone beat up beyond repair? That’s OK too: ecoATM cheerfully informs you that the phone will be recycled and that a tree will be planted in your name.

More ecoATMs are slated to appear in other stores over the next few months. Might we suggest a store that happens to specialise in electronics? [CrunchGear]

It’s not a novel idea to crush cans to 40% of their volume in order to recycle them, nor is it news that there’s a gadget for it. What is of interest about this can crushing gadget is that it’s automated and oriented toward households. Check out the video for a peek at the (rather durable looking) inner workings and you won’t be surprised that it’s great on battery life, too. Unlike my iPhone since a certain update. [Yanko Design]

Because of the plastics and metals in printer cartridges, they take a long time to break down in landfill. But they can be relatively easily recycled, either being reused by printer manufacturers or recycled into new products.

To find the nearest place to recycle your cartridges, point your browser at cartridges.planetark.org. It may take a little bit of extra effort, but it has a real benefit for the environment, so you should do it anyway.

[Planet Ark]

Technological Detail and Environmental Protection

1. Solar Energy System

The Shanghai Corporate Pavilion features a 1600m2 solar heat-collecting tube on the roof. These solar tube can collect solar energy to produce hot water up to 95°C. Ultra-low temperature power generation techology, a novel way to generate electricity through solar power. The power generated using this technology can be used for both the exposition and for every day.

2. Recycled Plastic materials
Shanghai produces nearly 30 million of waste CDs every year, and only 25% of them are reclaimed and recycled. If these CDs were reclaimed and washed, they could be used to produce polycarbonate granules and manufacture more polycarbonate plastic products. The external facade materials of the Shanghai Corporate Pavilion will use polycarbonate transparent plastic tubes to create its dreamlike appearance. After the Expo, also plastic tubes can be easily recycled to reduce social wastage.

3. Water/mist System

For the Shanghai Corporate pavilion, rainwater will be collected and recycled. After such treatment as sedimentation, filtration and storage, rainwater can be used for daily purposes at the pavilion and for the “mist” in particular. The mist can lower the temperature, purify the air and create a comfortable climate in pavilion. The spray can also be used to form various patterns under ceiling of entrance hall and make the overall appearance of the Shanghai Corporate Pavilion fresh and elegant.

[Arch Daily via Inhabitat via Boing Boing Gadgets]